writing

…and looking ahead

Maximum Z action, Back to the Future, comedy, community, crowdfunding, determination, development, fantasy, feedback, perseverance, persistence, post-production, rewrite, screenplay, screenwriting, script, short films, spec, story, strategy, thriller, westerns, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last week was all about 2025.

This week, to paraphrase the words of Dr Emmett L Brown, we plan for… the future!

-First and foremost, nailing down the story of the new action-comedy spec, and churning out at least 1-2 drafts. I’d say it’s about 2/3 of the way there. Still some details to work out, but I like how it’s developing.

Also nice – several readers have already volunteered their services to give it a look and subsequently tear it apart. In a helpfully critical way, of course.

-The other big thing is doing a major polish/revision on my western and fantasy-comedy specs. They’re good, but there is definitely potential to elevate the quality of each.

I’m also very fortunate to have a manager who’s really psyched about helping me on all fronts, from feedback on pages to getting the scripts out there.

As last year wound down, several columnists and podcasts talked about planning a strategy for achieving writing goals over the course of the year. A few really hit home for me, and I’ll be putting my own spin on that approach.

Looking forward to seeing how it all goes.

-Another significant project for this year is seeing the completion of post-production on my thrill-omedy short film SHECKY. The crowdfunding is just about halfway there and as of this posting, hovering around 71% funded.

Several readers of the blog have chipped in, and I once again put out a sincere request to anybody else who can contribute and is willing to do so. This is a long-in-development project for me, so any help I can get to reach that finish line is highly appreciated.

There are also some fantastic tier rewards, including invaluable feedback on scripts, directing reels, and acting reels. Click on the link above to take a look around and see if anything strikes your fancy.

-Lastly, my hosting of The Creative Writing Life Podcast continues. Guests are already lined up into February, and I’ll see what I can do about finally adding some theme music.

Those are the big ones for the next 12 months, and no doubt other things will show up.

Exciting times are ahead, chums. Make your 2026 as amazing as you want it to be.

Looking back…

Maximum Z ambition, career, community, contests, crowdfunding, determination, encouragement, feedback, manager, perseverance, persistence, reading, representation, screenplay, screenwriting, script, short films, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s my final post of 2025, so here’s a short breakdown of how it went in terms of screenwriting and the screenwriting-adjacent.

For the most part, there were two highlights:

-I got a manager. I’m especially proud of this because it was because of my writing, and not because of an arbitrary (and ridiculously costly) scoring system or contest results. He likes my stuff and is very enthusiastic about it and my potential for the coming year.

He’s also very supportive regarding the developing of new material, in that he’ll give feedback but not in a “I think you should do it my way” way. I’m looking forward to how he responds to the new spec.

-The other one is that after years of holding off and delays, my short film is that much closer to becoming a finished project.

There was crowdfunding to raise $ for production – 52%, which wasn’t bad.

A whirlwind 2-day shoot in my house (and a special thanks to my wife K for being incredibly patient and helpful during that time).

Lots and lots of back and forth with my extremely talented, capable, and also very patient director.

The editor worked her magic on it, and now it’s in the hands of the sound department. FYI – crowdfunding to cover post-production continues, so it would be very cool and highly appreciated if you’re able to chip in to help get it across the finish line.

-On the contest front, results were less than desired – a few whiffs and a handful of QFs and SFs. I’ll write more about this next week, but I think I’ll be skipping the 2026 season.

-I had the pleasure of reading a lot of phenomenal scripts from many of the fantastic writers in my network of associates. Exchanging scripts and the subsequent feedback among peers is invaluable.

-Speaking of which, The Maximum Z 2025 Script Showcase posted last week. 89 great works by 89 great writers. Feel free to give it the once-over and reach out to any writers whose work you’d like to read.

Overall, it was a good year. Hope it was for you too.

And here’s to the next one being even better.

Even with help, it’s all on me

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Another busy week here at Maximum Z HQ!

-Submissions continue to come in for the 2025 Script Showcase (which posts in exactly two weeks from today, so don’t keep putting off sending in!)

-Got some excellent notes back on both of the scripts that will be overhauled next year

-A few more scenes added to the new spec outline. Still hoping to have that completed by 31 December, but we’ll see

But what may be the biggest development is that I made some minor changes to the pitch deck I’d put together last year for my western, and then sent it to my manager to get his two cents.

He liked it – didn’t love it – and had some recommendations to make it much more effective for both appealing to producers and as a marketing tool.

My initial thought was “That seems like a lot that will also take away from my writing time.” But if this is how to move things forward, then so be it. I can split up how much time gets spent on each and still get results.

And most importantly, it’s not like there’s anybody else who’s going to do it. My script, my effort.

Yes, I know there are people I could hire to do it, but that’s not something I can do at the moment, and it would probably be a good thing to teach myself how to make these kinds of changes.

I was never one of those “I got repped, so now all I have to do is write and they can do all the heavy lifting” types.

My manager’s a busy guy. He’s got other clients. He still works in production. He’s got a family. If anything, I want to make it easier for him to be able to help me. In this case, that’s fine-tuning the pitch deck so he can take it out to potentially interested parties with confidence.

There’s no doubt he’ll have comments about the next version of the pitch deck, and there’ll probably be a lot of back and forth until it’s a solid piece of material. And that’ll be because of the work I put into it.

My career is making some slow and steady progress, and I’ve no intention of easing up on the throttle. I have always and will continue to do what I need to to make things happen. Fortunately, I have a little more help now, but for the most part it all still falls on my shoulders.

A burden I heartily embrace.

I have… concerns -OR- More than a few red flags

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My script didn’t make Second Round for the Austin Film Festival, which I accept. It’s just the way it goes. Sometimes it clicks with the reader, sometimes it doesn’t. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to getting the notes back to find out what they had to say.

The notes arrived.

At first glance, they seemed okay. Maybe not addressing what they felt didn’t work, but more like “here are some issues you might want to address”. That… kind of makes sense. But there were also comments of how one very minor character should have been more developed(?), or that a major supporting character felt “secondary”(??), and that the protagonist should be more active in the first act(?!?).

Re: that last one – apart from a handful of scenes, she IS the first act.

Overall, the notes felt very odd, and somewhat unemotional; like they were missing something. Couldn’t put my finger on it.

Other writers were posting on social media that their notes felt as if they’d been written by AI. That gave me pause.

I read my notes again and realized some important components were missing, such as:

No mention whatsoever of the antagonist. AT ALL. Imagine discussing Star Wars and ignoring Darth Vader.

No addressing the very relevant detail that Acts 2 and 3 take place in New Jersey.

No mention of any other supporting characters.

No comments or thoughts about the jokes. In a COMEDY.

There are a few others, but these were at the top of the list.

I passed this info on to my manager, who put them into an AI detection program. The result said 85-90% AI.

I tried it with a different program. 100% AI.

I composed a civil and respectful email to Austin. I made a point of not ranting or raving, simply saying how disappointed I was to have experienced this. Whether or not they respond remains to be seen. Other writers have asked for a refund.

Austin averages around 14-thousand entries, so they need readers. But from what I understand, the quality of the readers, or least their analytical skills, have gone downhill over the past few years.

Quick sidenote – I was really hoping that when the Nicholl implemented their “one script per entry” policy a few years ago, Austin would follow suit. No such luck. Profit above quality once again.

I was an Austin reader a few years ago and always did my best to give quality notes, because as someone who enters scripts into a prestigious competition like this, it’s what I would expect. Don’t get me wrong -I’ve received more than my fair share of lousy notes from Austin, but at least I could tell they were written by an actual person.

When we write our scripts, we hope that readers and audiences will connect with them. That they’ll be able to relate to the story and characters. That they’ll be entertained.

Analysis by AI totally ignores that and sees only what’s on the page, not what it’s saying. It only knows what it’s been programmed to know. Notes via AI are doing a total disservice to the writer. It might identify if something’s not working, but it can’t explain why or make suggestions of how to fix it.

Like one of the signs at the 2023 writers strike said: “AI did not experience childhood trauma”.

I’d already drastically cut back on entering contests, with Austin one of the few I considered still worth entering. After this experience, I’m not so sure.

And not one moving box in sight

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After much frustration with figuring out the outline of the action-comedy spec, a startling realization developed:

where the majority of the story takes place was wrong

I’d been so obsessed with trying to make the setting work within the context of the story that I ignored the question of whether it was the right setting in the first place.

As it turns out – nope.

There was also the detail that the original location idea was way too similar to one of its comps. I was more focused on how to make mine different, when it should have been “how can I make this similar, but VERY different?”

This is a specific kind of story, so I needed a location that was the most appropriate AND that offered the most opportunities for scenes and sequences in Acts 2 and 3. Several options were weighed. And since this is action AND comedy, I needed somewhere where both could be adequately accommodated.

I wasn’t concerned with logistics or how realistic it would be, and wanted somewhere that would feel like the perfect fit. The primary question was: what works best for this story?

More options explored. Which offered the most opportunity to not only tell this story, but the most fun way/ways to do so?

Cue the light bulb.

A location that’s very unique, holds what seems like a vast selection of potential scenes and sequences, and definitely checks off the action and comedy aspects.

A lot of my ideas for what could happen in the previous location were tailored to that location. This new one is very different, so many of those were scrapped (while keeping the concepts in reserve, just in case). A new list is still being assembled, with many feeling right for the story and having a strong “haven’t seen that before” kind of vibe.

This was also beneficial because I’d been having trouble figuring out the specifics of the ending, and the new location offered up a few ideas – many of which would also not have worked before.

It’s still a work in progress, but coming up with this new wrinkle has really made a difference. Confidence levels continue to climb.

Happy Halloween and have a great weekend.